[NEWS] CNBLUE holds “First Step” showcase press conference

After releasing their first official album, “First Step,” and the MV for “Intuition” earlier today, CNBLUE held a press conference at the M Pub in Seoul’s Time Square, and took their first official step into their comeback.

Yonghwa began, “We gathered together the songs we liked from our Japanese releases and recreated them for our album. If there’s one thing we learned from this album, it’s that there’s joy in writing and producing songs. Thanks to those skills, we’ve become better at interpreting songs. Our official album took a long time to prepare, especially the recording. We’d re-record and edit whatever didn’t satisfy us. Thankfully, the response towards the album has been positive so we’re quite proud.”

The members participated in the writing, composing, and arranging of nine out of the album’s 12 tracks.Jonghyun, who wrote “Love Rides the Rain” and “Lie,” commented, “Usually, I write and compose songs from the feelings I come across in my day-to-day life. But because of our busy promotions, I lived vicariously through movies and dramas and produced my songs from there. This album is important in that it shows the true color of our band.”

Yonghwa continued, “Honestly, I want to give our album 50 points. There are lacking aspects, but we really did try hard and tried to create everything from our own efforts. To say we’re 100% satisfied is too much, as we’ve still got a long way to go.”

When asked about his “We Got Married” wife Seohyun supporting the group, he replied, “I contacted her and she said she would come to the showcase to support us. I asked her if she was serious, and she said that she’d be supporting us with her heart. I’ll be supporting Seohyun’s promotions actively as well.”

On ending his virtual marriage with Seohyun, he stated, “I’m upset that I wasn’t able to treat her better. Over the year that I’ve spent with her, I experienced a lot of things that I otherwise couldn’t have. I’ve become fond of her, and I’ll be sure to support her from here on out.”

He continued, “Although I didn’t experience marriage life directly, I feel that it’s vital that couples treat each other without even 1% of anything lacking.”

Earlier, we reported that Yonghwa was cast in MBC’s upcoming drama, “Festival.” At the press conference, member Minhyuk was revealed to be casted as well.

Yonghwa revealed, “Not only will we be promoting through our drama, but through dramas as well. Kang Minhyuk has been cast with me for ‘Festival’ and is busily taking acting lessons. My role in the drama is ‘Lee Shin,’ a cold man that knows nothing but music. I’ve been trying to get into my role lately and have been treating my bandmates coldly. We’re alike in that we’re both band vocalists, so I’m working to bring that out.”

He continued, “As a way to express the meaning of starting fresh, I began a diet and lost about 8kg.”

Minhyuk added, “In the drama, Jung Yonghwa is the main character, while I’ll be playing a character named ‘Yeo Joon.’ It’s not my debut drama, but my second, so I hope to show how much I’ve improved.”

Jungshin stated, “I want to try acting as well since I have interests in both dramas and movies, so I’m preparing for that. I’ve also wanted to model, and recently received the opportunity to walk at the Seoul Fashion Walk this month.”

At the mention of the band being stereotyped as a ‘flower boy band’ that relies on looks over skills, Yonghwa replied, “Honestly, we predicted such views and reactions. We knew, however, that if we were confident with our music and worked hard to show that, people would be understanding.”

Jonghyun continued, “Our focus is on music, no matter what. We often wondered how we’d deliver the things we wanted to feel and share with the public.”

The group stated, “We hope to break the wall that stands between bands and the public. People stereotype bands as being loud and of a genre that is difficult to approach. Like the Rolling Stones, our dream is to become a band that is loved for a long time.”